Urban Theory has been significantly shaped by critical engagement with particular cities that theorists approach as paradigmatic: as particular instances of broader, more general forces and trends in urbanization. These paradigmatic cities are then often used as analytic templates for understanding other cities and other contexts. Neil Brenner provides a useful schema of the ways in which cities have been treated as paradigmatic: (1) the first case of a given development, (2) an exceptional or extreme example, (3) a typical case of a general trend, or (4) some combination of all the above (see his Table 1 in the article quoted above). As Brenner makes clear, the status of the example — the question of what makes an example exemplary, or a paradigm paradigmatic — is a critical but often under-specified concern in urban theory.

In this series of assignments, you will conduct individual and collaborative research on one of the cities listed below; you will craft a group presentation that draws on individual research; you will also use group work to help you refine a topic for more in-depth individual research. Throughout, you are asked to engage the challenging logic of the example: to work to link part to whole, particular to general, and concrete example to broader urban process.

The specific assignments in this series include:

1. Choose a city and a broad domain of inquiry (February 20)

Groups will be formed in class on Thursday, February 20.

You will work in groups of four. Each group will research one of the cities listed above. Each member of the group will research a different aspect of the city, chosen from one of the interrelated categories listed below.

A. The Built City
B. The Lived City
C. The Contested/Governed City
D. The City of Capital

2. Get oriented and structure your group's research plan (February 20-25)

You should have a clear idea of who is doing what and how it contributes to the overall project by Tuesday, February 25. A statement of who is doing what, signed by each group member, is due at the start of class that day.

As a group and individually: conduct basic, orienting research. Familiarize yourself with the city's structure and history; identify key facts and events. Set to work on constructing a working bibliography, and develop an explicit plan for further individual and collaborative research. The aggregate set of individual research areas must result in a coherent presentation, one in which no critical perspective is neglected.

3. Hone your focus and conduct individual research (February 25-April 3)

An individual research brief and an anotated bibliography for the whole group are due Thursday, April 3 at the beginning of class. Bring 5 copies of your brief.

Individually: as you become familiar with your city, further refine your analytic focus in a way that draws on your own interests and expertise, is appropriate for the city that you're studying, and complements the work of your colleagues. Write a concise research brief (of 3-4 double-spaced pages) in which you provide a clear critical summary of your findings to date. While you are encouraged to collaborate with other group members in focusing your ideas and identifying useful sources, your research brief must represent your own thinking and writing. For citations and a bibliography (the latter not included in the 3-4 page requirement), use the author-date style documented in The Chicago Manual of Style.

Collectively: compile and anotate a bibliography of the key scholarly sources that inform all team members' research. This bibliography should include 8-10 solid entries that are central to your project. For help, see How to Prepare an Annotated Bibliography.

4. Combining individual research and group research (April 3-8)

Brief written feedback on two other group members' research briefs are due Tuesday, April 8.

Individually: provide brief, specific written feedback on the research briefs of two other group members — A on B and C; B on C and D; C on D and A, and D on A and B.

Based on your collective review of each other's research briefs, identify core areas for further individual and group research. Begin to shape your class presentation.

5. Group presentation and handout (April 29 & May 1)

Groups studying Athens, Bangalore, Cairo and Chongqing will present on April 29; groups studying Kinshasa, New Orleans and Sao Paulo will present on May 1. Your photocopied group handout is due on the day of presentation. Make enough copies for the entire class, plus one.

Working as a group, prepare a 15-minute presentation, combining your individual research to create a single, coherent presentation. How you structure your presentation is up to you; however, everyone must take an active (speaking) role.

Group handout (required):
Working as a group, prepare a handout of no more than 3 pages that both synthesizes your individual research and supports your group presentation. Each group member is expected to contribute material — key facts, quotes, maps, images, graphs — drawn from his or her individual contribution to the group research. The final handout, however, is to be a single, coherent document that you will photocopy and distribute to the entire class.

Presentation slides (strongly suggested):
If your group chooses to use Powerpoint or Keynote, use it largely as ayou would a slide projector (remember those?) — that is, use it primarily for images and brief topic headings. Do not bullet-point your presentation and recite the content of your presentation from the slides. If your group opts to create a Powerpoint, each group member is expected to contribute to it.

Prepare (crucial):
Time your presentation, and arrive early enough to set up any technology you plan to use. The 15-minute presentation limit will be strictly kept, and time will fly by. There will be an additional 5 minutes for questions after each presentation, and a final 15 minutes for general discussion on May 1.

6. Final research paper (May 12)

Due by noon on Monday, May 12, 10-12 pages in length.

Drawing on your work over the course of the semester — your initial research, your contribution to your group project, your subsequent research — refine your topic and develop a supportable thesis or argument that you convey in a clearly organized, well crafted essay of 10-12 double-spaced pages. For citations and a bibliography (the latter not included in the 10-12 page requirement), use the author-date style documented in The Chicago Manual of Style.

Appendix A: Moving from a set of broad categories to a focused final topic (PDF download).